Wizard Dad: A Blog Update.

I love talking about RPGs, and solo play in particular, but right now I have sort of run out of topics I am ready to chat about. It happens when I blog more than I play. Playing is where I run into things to talk about, so for a bit of time, maybe a couple weeks, I am going to be playing a lot to recharge the batteries for talking a lot.

I do have a few irons in the fire. I am reviewing two cyberpunk themed games, that I would like to look at from a solo angle. I am an avid fan of Monte Cook Games Cypher System, and want to discuss a few solo hacks for system, that include full single player play, and how to handle a troupe style game. Finally I would love to review a few good articles from Mythic Magazine, once I have had a chance to try out the systems that they present.

But, for now, if you are inclined to a bit of Space Noir,  enjoy the Voyage of the Yggdrasil. I will post a single organized, multi link index in a day or two.

If that isn't your cup of tea drop back in a week or so.

Thank you for your continued interest

W.D.

P.S.
I am also taking a break from other social media besides this blog to focus on reading and gaming (as chatting about game eats up a rather large amount of game time), so feel free to reach out to me here if you want to pick my brain about a topic.

W.D.

Wizard Dad: Soloist, thank your GM. (A Wizard Dad short)

For some soloist jumping in with a blank character sheet, a general idea for a setting, a game engine, and an oracle are all they need to feel prepared. Then there is the other extreme. Of which I am in. 

I love everything about the role of the GM in TTRPGs. I love picking or making just the right setting, that I am in the mood to play. I like semi fabricating the interesting places I will explore (you have seen a few of those in this blog already). I like having a few NPCs ready to hinder or help. I like to know there is a problem to be solved. 

When you are soloing, all of that is part of the game, and you should do as much or as little as you enjoy, as long as it leads to a fulfilling gaming experience. But unlike in a group game where the players will give you a thank you, a high five, and occasionally spring for pizza, your only reward tends to be the feeling of a job well done. And the feeling following on its heels is, now I am too tired to play this.

So I have this small suggestion. It has worked wonders to incentivize my GM prep. I give myself some Experience Points (or advancement points, or Karma... you all know what I mean). And I don't mean a skimpy little pat on the head amount. I treat every significant and difficult aspect of prep as if it were a game session. Because it is. Whether that is reading setting material to make notes for lists and cards, or it is a bit of prefabbing places and faces, or researching Emulator variations that could be of use (with the Mythic Magazine or GM's Apprentice decks and the rules that go with them can be very involved), anything that makes your game run smoothly, match your play expectations, or is just fun, but admittedly taxing, reward yourself . And if that happens to put you close to an advancement point when you start playing, well why the heck not. You earned it.

W.D. 

(If you enjoyed this article, check out the Blog Index for more content that may entertain or inspire)

Wizard Dad's Workshop: Kill your Darling

This article is a bit tongue in cheek, and there would be dozen's of other ways to get the same effect, I am sure. With that said, if you can hang on loosely to a character this can be a lot of fun, especially of you are of the constantly shifting attention span crowd. 

I am not sure if this counts into any of the pre-existing methods of solo gaming, but I do something which, for me, is quite a bit of fun, so I thought a short discussion of it may make for an inspirational (and short I promise) read for a few folks. 

A touch of back ground. I have been without a game group now for about 9 years. I have been in the hobby for about 36 years. I ran for the same rotating group of players for about 15 years. I got to play around 20 times. I was the go to GM. I imagine a lot of people attracted to solo play were the go to GM. Nothing wrong with that. 

(Turns out I am not a great player in group games. I constantly had this nagging feeling of, "I would have done that differently". Which made me kind of a rotten player. I didn't EVER actually say that, so I wasn't being a rotten human. I take some comfort in that.)

For much of that 15 year chunk we played in the same campaign (with liberal breaks to try something new) and characters were killed or retired, and were replaced by different characters, and the campaign kept rolling. The players of course were in love with their characters. I grew to be in love with the setting.

When I first started playing solo, the hobby was less supported, and I burned through characters. I was playing various OSR style games, which can be hard on characters anyway, but I hadn't learned yet how to tailor games for a single solo character (which is weird, because I tailored many games for a single player as a GM). 

Now, I am not going to say I was playing wrong, and I certainly was having fun, but the fun was special sort of GM/OSR fun. I kept making new characters in the same setting from different angles. 

Well, I drifted away from the OSR set, because the amount of hacking needed for solo play with out playing someone multi classed to kingdom come, was becoming bothersome. And all of those game systems I had bought, but that never had a chance to be played, were beckoning me. 

Just recently I reviewed the notes on that composite setting made from 15 dead characters, and realized, this was a good setting. Every new character came at it from a different angle and in doing so uncovered more lore, geography, secret plots, powerful enemies, and interesting opportunities (which they died before checking out). I realized that I wasn't so much playing to advance a particular character, or set of characters in some cases, but I was exploring a landscape of the imagination. 

Which brings us back to the title at hand and topic at hand. Kill your Darlings.

I believe the phrase started with novelist William Faulkner (because that is what google told me), and he meant not to  latch on too hard to a single character or plot thread. He was referring to editing, but I think the same can be said with solo gaming, if world building is your jam. 

I am starting a Stars Without Numbers game, maybe even today, that is also a sci-fi mega dungeon. And I have decided that if the character dies he dies. If a plot runs stale it dies. If beloved NPC is endangered kill it. Not because I have suddenly become a masochist, but because if that happens I start the next character from a new angle, and eventually I will get to know the secret at the end of the line, even if no character I ever play does. The journey can be for you, the player, rather than you the character, as long as you are not afraid to Kill your Darlings. 

W.D.

P.S.
Keep a running total of your Experience points or advancements or what have you. Restarting with a newbie can be fun, but it can also get tedious. I suggest you restart a character at the same amount of ExP or Advancement as you had for the prior character, and use a tool (such as MM 11, pg. 4 ) to fill in the details of their back story, or maybe just let them be a prodigy who is Just That Good, out of the gate. That ,as in all things, is your call.

Wizard Dad: Locations, Encounters, and Objects that can found in an abandoned space station.

I am working on a somewhat complicated blog article about steering randomly created locations back to active threads (beyond what the heck is in this bloody dangerous place). Because I am trying out some new techniques and house rules it is going to take a while to complete it.

In the mean time I am feeling that draw I get every summer in Florida to get as far away as possible from Florida, at least in my brain, so I am going to be doing a lot of my adventuring in space (if you are interested in how that works out check out my Voyage of the Yggdrasil articles).

So, as a touch of filler so this blog isn't dead air, I present you with 3 lists (locations, encounters, and objects) that can be found in a seemingly abandoned space station. 

Though, I would use this with Location Crafter, it should have some small use to any game in which a salvage team in space suits rolls up on what looks like an untapped gold mine of spare parts, environmental hazards, and bad ideas.

Hook: Your ship arrives in a more vacant avenue of a mostly empty solar system only to pick up an automated distress call, that leads to seemingly abandoned space station. Suit up, because it seems the life support is off line.

Locations

1. Escape pod entry bay. (Has the pod been launched? Is there anything in the supply locker?)
2. A medical suit, with an Virtual Intelligence Nurse. (Has it been ransacked?, is the VI Nurse still sane or has it went a bit off?)
3. A hologram entertainment room. (what was the last simulation it was dial to?)
4. A shuttle bay. (Is the shuttle still there? If it is, are there clues as to why?)
5. Scientific R&D room with a sealed door. (Can it be jury rigged to open or forced open? What is concealed behind it, pay data, or a deadly specimen)
6. A guard station and armory. (Does it need an access code? Is it booby trapped?)
7. Control Center. (Is it damaged? What where the last entries in the log?)
8. Engineering room. (Is the Maker Box still functional? Are three empty spots in the tool locker? If so what do you expect to see there that is missing?
9. Captain's quarters? (Have they been ransacked? Does the captain keep a personal diary? If so what are the last entries?)
10. Life Support control room. (Is the life support damaged or was it taken off line?)

Encounter

1. Its a trap! (what is the trap effect? Is it meant to incapacitate a human or is it made for some other sort of target.
2. Service Android? (is it online, is it sane, does it attack?)
3. Babbling crew member (Why are they here when the station seems abandoned.? Why are they alive with no life support?)
4. Ship AI (Is it cooperative? Does it want to help but can't because you  aren't members of the crew? What were its last orders?)
5. Non human entity. (Is it hostile? Is it a pet? Is it carrying some horrible space disease?)
6. Service Bot? (Is it still trying to do its job? Does it think that the PCs are trash that need to be removed? If its memory is accessed what is recorded on it?)
7. Security Bot? (Does it shoot first? Does it question the party? Does it use lethal force?)
8. VI Hologram? (What is its function, what  how smart is it? Doe it think the party is part of the station's crew?)
9. Vacuum suit. (Why is it here?  Is it damaged? Is it better than the one you own?)
10. Meta tool with a cracked output screen. (how recently was it last used? What tool is it set to emulate? does it have blood on it?

Objects

1. Cryogenics Chamber? (are they occupied? Is it a crew member? Is it something much more exotic?)
2. Graffiti sprayed on wall (Does it make sense? Is it artistic? is it cryptic?)
3. One more dead bodies. (Is how they died apparent. Were they crew members? Are they still dangerous?)
4. A data pad. (is it broken. Is it password locked. Is its battery dead? What was the last thing that it was used to access/look up?)
5. A jury-rigged weapon. (What was it built from? what is its function?)
6. An open equipment locker (Is it ransacked? What is left in it? What would you expect to see that is missing?)
7. Emergency Rations (have they been opened? What flavor are they? Why are they in this location?)
8. A cache of universal batteries? (Are they a trap? Do they have charge left? is there an object near them that needs a battery?)
9. A deactivated drone. (What is its model and function? Is it turned off or damaged? Does it have an onboard memory device?)
10. A collection of hyper tech medicines? (Damage repair nanites? Hyper antibiotics designed to cure you of anything short if cancer? Stim patches that allow the ignoring of wounds or pain?)

W.D.

Mythic Locations 2: A Walk in the Forest

Continuing the series of drop in and play locations, today we are visiting an Ancient Forest. This will be a setting template, so you, and the context of your game, will be the final word on what is found. The rules set that is used to design this adventure can be found in Mythic Magazine Vol. 5, pg. 12 ($4.95).

There are three types of Woods described in this article: Dark Woods, Ancient Woods, and Horror Woods. Today we are exploring an Ancient Wood. 

If your context doesn't already inform it, roll twice on the Woods Story Descriptors Table. Or conversely you can just pick a couple of elements that fit with the context of your game. You can even split the difference and add one from your context and roll one to add a touch of surprise. 

Next, roll twice on the Woods Region Descriptors Table. If you want to add more depth of description, you can reroll on this table when you enter a new region within the wood to keep churning out variations on the original theme. I leave that up to you. 

Now, you should prepare your lists if you have pre-existing context for any Locations, Encounters, or Objects. (A sample list is given below). This would be heavily dependent on the context of your adventure going in, and any inspirations you may have been given by the Woods Story Descriptions you rolled. 

Examples of locations could be fairy rings, animal dens, caves found in gnarled roots, etc.
Examples of Encounters could be talking beast, fairy creatures, mythic creatures, hermits in the woods, and the like.
Examples of objects could be rare herbs, magic pools, the long dead remains of a former explorer, or an out of place object, like a sword thrust into a tree trunk.

As I said let the context of your world and your imagination flow while filling out the lists. 
A useful tool to grab at this point would be a copy of  The randomized Location Crafter Known Elements Region Sheet Form Fillable PDF.

So with no further ado, lets take a walk into an Ancient Forest. 

1. Area: Connection to Area 2 Loose collection of trees
1. Location: Expected
2. Encounter: None
3. Objects: None
2. Area: Connection to Area 3 Loose collection of trees
1. Location: Expected
2. Encounter: Random (Angry, Peaceful)
3. Objects: Random (Moving, Garbage)
3. Area: Connection to Area 4 Loose collection of trees
1. Location: Expected
2. Encounter: None
3. Object: Random (Important, Desired)
4. Area: Area 4 leads directly to Area 5
1. Location: Expected
2. Encounter: None
3. Object: Random (Warm, Weapon)
5. Area: Area 5 leads directly to Area 6
1. Location: Special (Known and Random- Ornate, Resourceful)
2. Encounter: None
3. Object: Expected
6. Area: Connection to Area 7 Loose collection of trees
1. Location: Known or Random (Threatening, Primitive)
2. Encounter: Expected
3. Object: Known or Random (Watery, Useless)
7. Area: Connection to Area 8 Loose Collection of Trees
1. Location: Random (Simple, Harmful)
2. Encounter: Expected
3. Object: Expected
8. Area: Connection to land beyond Forrest Natural path through the trees
1. Location: Complete
2. Encounter: Expected
3. Object: Random (Active, Fuel)

Now what is above doesn't give us a lot to work with. Lets spice things up a bit. Below are three lists to prime your imagination:  locations, encounters, and objects. If you already have your own ideas pluck a few of these out and add your own. This game should always represent your character's adventure.

Locations that may be found in an Ancient Forest

1. A shrine to a nature deity or spirit.
2. A large tree in a clearing with poppets, in various stages of decay on its  branches.
3. A bridge over a small black stream.
4. A clearing with an ancient fountain.
5. A very large dark hole at the base of a massive tree.
6. A single cottage
7. An abandoned hamlet
8. a glade of brightly colored flowers.
9. A large clearing full of empty market stalls build on a 2/3 scale.
10. A huge nest.

Encounters that may be found in an Ancient Forest

1. A large rock that rolls after the character at a distance of about 9 feet, but stops when looked at.
2. Paths that lead time and again back to the same glade.
3. A troupe of elves or fairies, majestically or noisily proceeding.
4. A gnome or goblin merchant or tinker.
5. A group of animals having a discussion, either in common speech or in animal noises.
6. Herb or wood gatherers of any species.
7. Hunters of any species.
8. Genius Loci.
9. A lost person or lost soul.
10. A living oracle (animal, humanoid, or something very strange).

Objects that may be found in an Ancient Forest

1. A sword thrust into a stump, stone or sticking out of a pond.
2. Magical waters from a small pool (enough for several flasks) that have potion or poison like qualities.
3. Clearly enchanted mushrooms of unknown prospect.
4. A tree with leaves of gold, copper, or silver (real or illusory).
5. A large rock covered in runes that if thrown will fly back to the thrower afterwards (possibly hitting them).
6. A strange or spooky doll in a path way or intersection.
7. A picnic basket with unknown properties or contents.
8. Badly ripped and bloodied garments.
9. An egg in a low hanging next that shimmers like an opal.
10. The body of a trapper that has been strangled with a foxes tail fashioned into a cord.

W.D.

Timing is everything. I wish i had it

 Work and home responsibilities have kept me off the blog for a bit, but today or tomorrow I should have a brand new ancient forest for you to explore. 

Thank you all for your readership and interest. 

Mythic Locations 1a: Ruined Tower of Alcheon the Great

I finally have some time on my hands to demonstrate the usefulness of a premade, but unstocked dungeon (which I introduced in Mythic Musings 1: 3 Mad Libs Locations For Location Crafter RPG supplement, part 1 the Dungeon.). I would like to note that this is hardly a new idea. If you go back to the early history of D&D you will find the first published module B1: In search of Adventure was a very well described but empty dungeon. It had lovely scene dressing but no monsters or treasures. Though if I recall correctly, there was a suggested random encounter list suitable for a low level party.

As this is a Mythic game we will be doing it in the Mythic style. Instead of premade scene dressing all of the descriptions will come from the context of the game. The object and encounters will spring into being on the spot based on your context, prompts, and Fate Questions. To make the very most of the Mythic elements I strongly advice you pick up a copy of Mythic Game Master Emulator 1e ($5.95), or its robust sequel Mythic Game Master Emulator 2e (14.95). The 2e version is packed with a ton of useful content, but that extra content isn't essential to our game today.

Below is the generic dungeon template we will be using for this game. As it lacks any hard and fast descriptions or encounters it can be reused over and over. (It is an eventual goal of this blog to have a collection of such templates for all the elements of gaming, across many genre, but that is neither here or now).  I have copied it from its original article for reference and convenience. 

Small Ancient Dungeon Template

1. Room, Exits: 1 Leads directly to another Area (2)
1. Random Location ( Tranquil/Positive)
   
2. Encounters Expected
3. Objects Random ( Travel/Modern)
2. Room, Exits: 1 Leads directly to another Area (3)
1. Expected Location
2. Encounter Known, or Random (Positive/Dangerous)
3. Objects Random ( Unusual/Prized)
3. Room, Exits: 2 Leads directly to another Area (4) and Well or hole in the floor (6)
1. Location Expected
2. Encounter Expected
3. Object Expected
4. Room, Exits: 1 Leads Directly to another area (5), but has a small attached room (7)
1. Location Expected
2. Encounter Known, or Random (Generous Ambush)
3. Object Known, or Special (Lethal Fuel)
5. Room, Exits: 0 (just opening to 4)
1. Location Complete
2. Encounter Expected (Boss?)
3. Object None or Expected (McGuffin/Treasure)
6. Room, Exits: 0 (just the shaft that leads to 3)
1. Location Random (Unsteady/Protection)
2. Encounter Expected
3. Object Expected
7. Room, Exits: 0 (just an opening to area 4)
1. Location Expected
2. Encounters None
3. Objects Random (Hard/Average)

As I am playing this as a one shot, I have no particular context going in so I will roll for it from the Dungeon Story Descriptors Table in Mythic Magazine 3 (purchase details in the first article). The first roll gives me Associated with Magic. The second roll gives me Known to be full of Traps. This strikes me as an old fashioned Fun House dungeon.

The table of interest is Dungeon Region Descriptors Table. This will give us the general look and feel of the dungeon. First we get Crumbling and in Ruins. This suggest that this particular dungeon was constructed in the days of old. Some of the Traps could just be the danger of ancient masonry that has finally given up. The second roll gives us Specific Purpose. 

So we have an ancient fun house dungeon that is falling to pieces. It is asssoicated with magic and is full of traps, but it also it built to house something (Specific purpose). So our adventure is to find the special something that is to be housed here. Lets say this is an old wizards tower to give it a bit more context. The top levels have long since crumbled down on themselves, but there is an opening to the dungeons beneath at the foot of the rubble.

Off camera I design a mid level wizard character using tips from Black Streams: Solo Hero (Cost Free), which gives tips for a basic OSR style character to survive in solo play. What I end up with is a mid level Wizard who focus on exploration magics. The tips in Solo Hero, and a little common sense will probably see the character through to the end of the dungeon.

Now we know a few things about the dungeon lets fill out some lists.

Locations

1. Storage room
   
2. Summoning chamber
3. Alchemy Lab
4. Reading room
5. Zen Garden
6. x
7. x
8. x
9. x
10. x

Encounters

1. Unseen servants 
2. Magical Traps
3. Damaged masonry
4. Tower guardian
5. Mimics
6. x
7. x
8. x
9. x
10. x

Objects

1. Potions
2. Scrolls
3. Wands
4. Magical Brick-a-brack
5. x
6. x
7. x
8. x
9. x
10. x

To give a bit of context lets say the Wizard, whom we will call Milford the Daring, found a treasure map to this crumbling old edifice. He hired a skilled guide to get him to the entry point, and now conjures a magical light and proceeds into the dungeon. 

Ruined tower of Alcheon the Great

1.Following his floating whisp down into the basement he comes upon a sandy floor that is positioned with a number of artfully placed rocks. Some magical force keeps shaping new mandala into the sand. A feeling of relaxation courses through the room which invites the user to relax. The room is made into the facsimile of a cave and as he lingers he hears the sound of surf crashing in the distance, which of course is an audible glamour. At the far end of the room is a partially collapsed arch. It seems some prior adventure met a poor end here as there is a skeletal body. The poor adventurer's corpse is the only mar on this tranquil scene. Milford takes the stone walkway around the zen garden and bends down piously near the corpse. He says a benediction for their soul, but he also takes their backpack. Such is the life of adventurers. Knowing now the danger of  falling rocks Milford conjures a magical shield and goes through what is left of the arch into the next room.

2. It must have been the magic of the garden that held off the musty smell of this ancient room. The crumbled or crumbling remains of a pair chair are near a chimney. There are also moldered books and papers laying on tables, which seem largely held together by inertia, considering how brittle they look. Milford thinks is is probably the damp coming down the chimney that has caused the decay. There are two things of interest in the room and another arch leading out in the opposite wall. One is an old clay tablet on the mantel of the fireplace and the other is an undecayed book, next to a throne like wooden chair. Milford approaches the mantel piece first and cast a simple spell to search for enchantments. The clay tablet is clearly magical. But surely this isn't the protected treasure. Yet still it is an ancient artifact. He carefully lifts it and wraps his spare cloak from his own pack around it, and stores it for later examination. Next, Milford moves to the untarnished book. Using the same cantrip he examines the book for enchantments but finds none. Withdrawing a wooden probe from his belt sheath he gives it a poke. At which time it springs to life with a dozen pseudopods and snatches the rod from his hand. Milford rushes out of the room while the mimic devores his probe.

3. Milford rushes into the next room still looking over his shoulder when and steps on the very ornate rug without a seconds thought. The pattern on the rug begins to shift and the room is lanced in prismatic colors. Before he can even take stock of the room, Milford is blinded. He falls to his hands and knees and gropes about the room. This is how his fingers find the edge of a great circular well in the middle of the room. An old chemical smell rises from it. Over the next few minutes the dazzling lights fade from his eyes. He can see he is in an ancient and disused alchemical laboratory.  The glassware is fairly intact but the various reagents have long since turned to powder. besides the well there is yet another arch leading into yet another room. Milford conjures a second willow whisp light and lets it gently drift down the well. He can see that a stream runs through the bottom, and there is a very shallow winding stairs going down. Could the bottom of a well could be a good hiding spot for an ancient treasure. On the first step down Milford steps on a slim rod that rolls under his foot  dropping into the well. Only a very lucky lunge for the wall prevents the same fate for the Adventurer. 

6. After carefully descending the virtually non existent stairs, Milford finds himself in a waste deep, ice cold stream. Alchemical residue has coated and dried the stones around the edge of the stream. His footing on the bottom is somewhat unsteady. He does have a touch of good luck when he sees that the wand that had fallen from the top of the well has been washed into a niche in the wall. In the same niche are a collection of gleaming objects. Chalices, bottles that seem to be made of cut crystal, and a heavy golden ring. Fine inspection under the willow light shows that the ring is engraved with the symbol of a shield with a glyph upon it. Just as Milford slips it onto his finger he hears a rumbling, and the old stairs start to pull into the wall, abandoning the other treasures he rushes up the stair, lunging for the lip as the last of them vanish into the wall.   

4. The next room Milford entered carried an air of menace. The center of the floor had concentric circles set in rusted iron and blackened silver. Within the circle was a shimmer in the air. The Wizard decided this was well out of his pay grade and edged along, but as he did the room started to wobble in his vision, and his footing became unsteady. At the same time at the edge of his hearing whispers began (at this point the character attempts a mental savings throw and passes, if barely. As his back is pressed to the wall as he edges around he hears a faint click, and falls into a secret room beyond.

7. This room is little more than an alcove filled with books. A quick glance indicates that he has found what he came to seek. This is the library of the great mage, with books ranging from simple magical primers to the finished grimoire of the great mage himself. He chooses a selection of them, because taking all of them is beyond his gear capacity, he then edges out of the room once more.

5. Milford knows pressing on is pushing his luck, so he sends his whisp light into the next chamber, carful that it doesn't touch the circle holding the entity. In the room is a dais and on the dais a sarcophagus, that is made of shining silver with gold ornamentation. Possibly this is the last resting place of Alcheon the Great. So continuing to edge along (after passing a slightly easier save) he walks into the room. The room has frescoes on every wall of the life of the great mage, and the heavy metal coffin is engraved to show a man laying in peace in stately robes with a staff across his body diagonally. The adventurer knows that robbing this great man of his grave goods would be a step to far, so reluctantly he contents himself with studying the murals, and marveling at the feats they depict. Every true wizard lives a life of adventure and Alcheon was no exception. Gathering his new treasures close to his body, Milford pulls out a scroll carried just for this reason, and intoning its empowered words vanishes from the memorial and appears outside of the ruined tower.

And there you have it folks. You will see that each room has an outline, sometimes it is followed strictly and other times inspirationally, but going room to room the adventure unfolds.

I hope you take the outline above, and those to come and have your own adventures.

W.D.

P.S.
Because of the small interruptions of life it took me longer than expect to turn this out. I apologize for that. The next couple will just be the outlines, though I intend to save them and play them through myself. Because it took so long to get this to publish I know it is probably rife with typos and run on sentences. I will be working back over it and cleaning it up, but I didn't want to delay it an hour longer after promising it so long ago.

W.D.